Alternate Ending to Love Me Bitterly
by Sariniste
Summary: DO NOT READ unless you have already read the first 19 chapters of Love Me Bitterly, Loathe Me Sweetly! This is the alternate ending to that story, with a happy ending for Aizen, Orihime, and others. AU/AiHime. Complete.


**Love Me Bitterly, Loathe Me Sweetly – Chap. 20A – ALTERNATE VERSION/ENDING**

**A/N: STOP! Do not read unless you have already finished the first 19 chapters of **_Love Me Bitterly, Loathe Me Sweetly_****_**.**_

**This is NOT a standalone story, but the alternate ending to the above tale****. Even if you have already read it, you might want to re-read chapter 19 of **_Love Me Bitterly_****** to refresh yourself on the contents of that chapter, because this story contains a number of references to chapter 19.**

This is the alternate version of chapter 20 of **_Love Me Bitterly, Loathe Me Sweetly_**, with a happy ending for Orihime and Aizen (as well as others in the story). This chapter replaces chapters 20 and 21 of the original story, and is the final chapter of the alternate storyline, which does **not **correspond with the story in _Triangle of Immortality_. This chapter is intended to be read after chapter 19 of the original story.

If you have already read chapters 20 and 21 of the original story, you'll notice some familiar scenes in this chapter. I'd recommend that you not skip any parts of this chapter, because there are subtle differences in phrasing throughout the text, to convey a different mood here. So even if a scene seems familiar, it will likely have a different slant on it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**Warning:** Do not read further if you were pleased with the original ending of the story in chapter 21! This chapter contains OOC Aizen, sweetness and romance… you have been warned. ;)

(Originally posted 6/3/2011.)

XxXxXxX

Orihime opened her eyes, surprised for a moment she wasn't in her apartment. She smelled antiseptic and heard a heart monitor beeping somewhere, then looked around at the cheerful and brightly-painted walls of the Kurosaki Clinic, and everything came rushing back. Nnoitra attacking her, being taken to that warehouse, being held as a hostage… she shivered.

"Hey." The orange-haired youth coming in the door, a bandage around his leg, frowning, was so familiar, so _normal_ that Orihime almost started crying. She felt that her life hadn't been normal for a long time.

"Kurosaki-kun," she said, smiling brilliantly at him. "How's your leg?"

He sat down on an orange molded plastic chair by the side of her bed and grinned at her. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a flesh wound. Not a big deal." He looked embarrassed. "But what about you? How are you feeling?"

She moved her head slightly, touched a hand to her forehead. "Actually, I feel fine!" she chirped. "I'm sure I can go home soon and give this bed to someone who needs it more."

He scowled at her. "No, you're not going home until my dad has checked you out, Inoue. That was a nasty concussion you ended up with there."

"Oh, it's okay," Orihime insisted. "But I suppose it's fine for me to wait until Kurosaki-san discharges me." She added, "It's very kind of you to take care of me here."

Ichigo rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "Don't worry about it, Inoue. It's the least we could do."

She said, "I wanted to thank you for shooting Nnoitra and getting him to drop that gun he was holding on me."

"Oh," said Ichigo, embarrassed, "it wasn't really me." He looked away for a moment, and then continued. "Aizen was the one who got him to take the gun off of you." He scratched his ear and scowled down at the floor. Then he said, the words all tumbling out in a rush, "He actually risked his life there. Nnoitra easily could have shot him. I would never have thought he would do that." He looked directly at Orihime and blurted out, "He really loves you, Inoue." He stopped, turned red. "I—I guess I was wrong about him. Rukia told me he'd been helping her out with the police sting, but I just thought—well, it doesn't matter what I thought. I guess I kind of made an ass of myself. I… I wish you lots of happiness with him, Inoue." He looked away.

Orihime stared at him, her heart pounding. "Wait. You mean he really was working with the police on a sting?"

"Oh ho ho, the sleeping princess is awake!" Isshin's booming voice cut across their conversation as the boisterous man strode into the room and came to Orihime's side. "How's your head feeling today, Inoue-san?"

Ichigo scowled at his father and looked ready to defend himself from a punch, but much to Orihime's relief, the two Kurosakis didn't get into it with each other. She was glad, because it would have been upsetting to see Ichigo fighting with his leg still bandaged.

She smiled up at Isshin. "Fine, Kurosaki-san. Everything feels very good. And I'm very grateful to you for taking care of me."

"Eh," he muttered, rubbing his neck, "it's really nothing. We're happy to do it. And actually, I'd rather have you as a patient than all those Breakdown addicts." He sighed and a look of profound worry settled over his face. "I don't know what's going to happen to them now that they've shut down the supply."

"But isn't that good news, Kurosaki-san?" asked Orihime.

"Well, of course it's good news. There won't be any new addicts now. But for these poor kids," he gestured in the direction of the larger public ward, "they have a rough time ahead of them. They're addicted to a substance that isn't being made any more. I'm doing the best I can to make them comfortable, but they're all going to be going through some very painful withdrawal symptoms." He looked grave. "Some of them, I'm afraid, won't make it."

Orihime drew her brows down. "You mean, they might die?" Her voice almost cracked on the final syllable.

Isshin gave a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid so. Breakdown is a nasty, nasty drug. Once you get it into you, it doesn't let go of you easily." He scowled, and for a moment the resemblance to his son was striking. "The pisser is, the goddamn city has refused to give me any funding for Breakdown addicts. They say that 'the scourge of Breakdown is now over.'" He lowered his brows in a hard sneer. "Unctuous bastards," he growled. "We've got people here who might be damaged permanently, who are at risk of dying because the cops were too slow to shut down the drug dealers in time, and the goddamn city is crying poor. The mayor is basically absent, and Police Chief Yamamoto is just his mouthpiece."

"Hey!" said Ichigo, scowling as well. "The cops did as good a job as they could. It wasn't their fault it was a tough case to crack. That Urahara turned out to be a pretty slick guy."

"Hah!" said Isshin. "My son the substitute police officer! I'm proud of him, but of course that's what you'd expect from him having such a fine, upstanding father." He gave one of his idiot grins. "On the other hand, he still has a lot to learn. I mean, getting shot on a routine mission? Hey Ichigo—yow!" He stopped suddenly, hand to his nose. Ichigo had just punched him hard in the face, scowling ferociously. "Hey, what'dja do that for!"

But Ichigo didn't respond, as he was looking at a new visitor who had just come in the door. "Ichigo, you really should stop getting in fights with that bullet wound," said the newcomer. It was Rukia, her black hair gleaming, dressed in a neatly pressed police uniform. She grinned at the group and greeted everyone warmly. "Ichigo, I wanted to thank you for your work that night. Largely thanks to your help, we were able to bust a major drug and crime ring, and get Breakdown off the streets." She glanced at Isshin. "You must be very proud of your son. He did some real important police work as a volunteer. We're all really grateful to Ichigo. As a matter of fact, I think the mayor's going to give him a medal." She grinned at him.

Ichigo scowled. "Just what I need, a long time waiting around for the pompous ass to shake my hand and give me a piece of pot metal."

"Ichigo!" said Rukia, glaring like she wanted to punch him but was stopping herself because of his wound. Then she turned her head at a sound from the front door and smiled again. Another visitor had come to the door of Orihime's room.

He paused for a moment at the threshold, his brown eyes sharp and intelligent, his face calm as he surveyed the group inside the room. Everyone's eyes turned to him. As always, Aizen appeared elegant and composed, dressed in a fine cream silk shirt over neatly pressed black slacks, both of which flattered the lines of his body and his long, leanly muscled limbs.

"Greetings, everyone. I'm pleased that Orihime has so many friends to keep her company during this difficult time." His deep voice was soft, but resonated throughout the room.

His eyes went to Orihime, lying on the bed, as her eyes locked with his. Then he moved gracefully inside, pulling out a chair beside Orihime's bed and lowering himself into it, his eyes never leaving hers as he reached out for her hand.

Rukia spoke first. "Aizen-san! I was just telling Ichigo he was going to be getting a medal from the mayor. You're getting one too." She smiled broadly at him. "Thanks to your hard work, we've shut down a big-time drug operation, and arrested a whole slew of gangbangers. The city of Karakura thanks you."

Aizen's expression remained neutral. He kept his gaze on Orihime and wrapped his fingers around her hand. "I didn't really do anything other than a bit of play-acting. It was you, Kuchiki-san, who planned everything out and ran the whole operation." He turned his gaze briefly to Rukia. "I was very impressed at how skillfully you sprung the trap on them. That was a highly effective sting. Very intelligently planned."

Rukia shook her head, frowning, and made a dismissive gesture. "No, I want to give credit where credit is due. You guys all did a wonderful job. Aizen-san, you really exceeded my expectations, I have to admit."

But Aizen was no longer listening. He was focused on Orihime's face as she listened to Rukia, his face oddly vulnerable as he waited to hear what she would say. "Orihime. How are you feeling today?"

Orihime returned his gaze with a new light in her expression as she registered the double meaning of his words. "Sousuke." Her voice was gentle. "Thank you for saving my life last night."

He only smiled at her and squeezed her hand more tightly. "I realized last night that life would not be worth living without you, Orihime."

Her cheeks pinked. "I'm sorry for not believing you earlier about the sting."

"Hush," he said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers, his gaze not leaving hers. "I completely understand why you might have felt that way. It was my fault, and it has been my fault all along. I only hope that I can begin to earn your trust in the future."

She looked at him and tears started in her eyes. "I've always trusted everyone else. I don't know why I suddenly stopped trusting in you."

"Please," he said softly, "don't be upset. I don't want you to ever be upset again, Orihime."

The emotion between them was so strong that it almost seemed that the two of them were alone in the room, so much so that the others felt embarrassed. Rukia cleared her throat. "Erm. I think I need to be going." She moved out of the room, and the others followed her, muttering excuses.

Neither of the two remaining occupants of the room appeared to notice anyone leaving.

XxXxXxX

The precinct office was bustling as usual the next morning as Rukia knocked on Ukitake's door.

"Come in," he called from within. When she opened the door and met his eyes, he was smiling. "Rukia," he said. "Congratulations. That was a fabulous job on the Breakdown case."

Rukia allowed herself an answering smile. "Thank you, sir. It was the toughest case I've ever had."

He smiled at her warmly. "I know." He swiveled in his chair, turning toward the ancient radiator and the dented blinds covering the window. Then he turned back to her. "I thought you'd like to see the final report. The mayor's going to give you a commendation, you know."

Rukia grunted. "As if I care about that."

"No." His voice was gentle. "But you care about justice, and because of your work, justice has been served. The prosecutor's office sent over the paperwork. Kisuke Urahara and Shinji Hirako are going to be tried for conspiracy and drug trafficking. They're going to go to jail for a long time."

Rukia returned a cynical tilt of an eyebrow. "That's assuming they don't get off on some technicality. I already saw their attorney filing motions to release them. They've got Yoruichi Shihoin." Ukitake winced at the name of the top criminal defense attorney in the city as Rukia continued. "You know she's going to get them off. Apparently some of the evidence may not have been collected properly."

Ukitake sighed and then shook his head. "Even if they do get off, Rukia, you've done the most important work. You've gotten Breakdown off the streets, and we've shut down the Hueco Mundo gang. With our final sweep, we traced all remaining large shipments of Breakdown to Karakura Town, and arrested seventy-eight individuals involved in drug sales. We seized all the extant stashes of Breakdown, and the formula has been destroyed.

"Even if they got out, and if they were able to reconstruct the formula, they wouldn't dare start manufacturing it again. Breakdown can never appear on the streets again; we're watching now, and we would snap them up before it got too bad. We've also broken the back of one of the most vicious gangs in this city's history. Their leader is dead and many of his followers are going to rot in jail for a long time. It's pretty clear that gang violence is going to be way down in this city for quite a while.

"You've done a tremendous amount of good, regardless of whether you get personal revenge on these people." He leaned back in his battered old green swivel chair, and smiled proudly at her. "You've stopped a dangerous drug from taking any more innocent lives. This entire town is grateful to you, and you've stopped the spread outside the city, so you've potentially prevented a nationwide scourge. You should be very proud of yourself. I know I am."

XxXxXxX

"Sousuke, could you just tell me… how much of what they say about the Captain is true?" Her voice trembled.

He looked away for a moment and sighed. "Orihime. I won't deny that I haven't led a blameless life. Although not all of what the rumors say about the Captain is true, enough of it is. I— I have done some very terrible things. I wonder if you can find it in yourself to forgive me for my past, if I promise to give up these activities for you. Might that be possible?" He gazed at her with a silent plea in his eyes. "I promise, I will allow you to be my conscience, to guide my actions. I can't do anything about the past, only the future. Will that be enough for you?" His voice was soft, as though he hardly dared to hope.

Hesitantly, she closed her fingers around his. "Do you really mean that, Sousuke? Will you really do that for me?" She took a deep breath, looked up at him with the question in her eyes.

"Of course." He looked down at her with warmth in his deep brown eyes. "I will do anything for you, Orihime." Slowly, he brought his lips down to hers and she closed her eyes as his warm mouth lit sparks all over her body.

XxXxXxX

The tiny, black-haired girl put her hands on her hips and glowered up at Ichigo in triumph. "See?" she said with satisfaction. "It was Urahara and Hirako all along. Your suspicions about Aizen were wrong."

Ichigo snorted ruefully. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right!" Rukia said. "I'm always right."

Ichigo stared at her. Then he chuckled. "Yeah. That's right, midget." Then he dodged to the side to avoid her fist. He came up again, grinning. "Hey. It was good working with you.

She stopped and looked up at him. "Yeah. We were a good team," she said softly. She gazed directly at him, and he saw deep emotion in those violet eyes.

"Yeah," he said. "We were." He looked into her eyes, suddenly dismayed at the past tense of the verb. "Do we have to stop working together? There's still so much to do." He realized that this girl who had come into his life like a whirlwind was going to be gone as suddenly. In the emptiness of his last year of high school, filled with nothing but tests and studying during the days, and then the long, dreary nights at the clinic, seeing so much illness and death this year, Rukia had been one of the few bright spots. First, he had thought of her as a good friend his own age. And then, even after he had learned her true purpose at Karakura High, they had still been close friends and colleagues. He had thought of her as a mentor then. They had worked together to protect others. He was going to miss her friendship, her fiery nature… he'd even miss her great right jab. He rubbed his chin ruefully.

Rukia was gazing at him with regret in her large eyes. "Ichigo. You know we can't work together any more right now. I'm a cop and an adult, and you're a high school student with a brilliant future ahead of you. We both have lives to save, but we each have to do it in our own way." She paused. "I have to go now. I have my job to do, and you have your life to live." Her look was intense now. "Goodbye, Ichigo. I'm going to miss you." Then her eyes lightened. "But once you graduate, there's nothing to say that we can't work together again in the future. I'll keep in touch."

He grinned at her in return, and she flashed that rare and brilliant smile that never failed to lift his spirits. Then she turned to walk away, and he watched her as she walked down the street, away toward the border of Karakura Town, and as she gradually became smaller and smaller until she turned one last corner and vanished.

XxXxXxX

Orihime walked in the door of her apartment, glad to be home in her familiar old place. It seemed that it had been so long ago that Nnoitra had burst his way in, but it had really been only a couple of days. She thought everything would be a mess, burnt food on the stove, her door hanging open… but someone had been there when she was in the clinic, had cleaned everything up, left things in order.

It was as though she hadn't been violently kidnapped from her own home only two days ago. There wasn't even blood on the coffee table where she had banged her head.

She sat down at the card table that served her as a dining table. Someone had even gathered her mail and stacked it neatly on the table. One piece of mail struck her immediately— a large, fat white envelope with a return address of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A fat envelope— a good sign. Her heart leaped up in her chest, pounded furiously as she tore open the envelope and began reading. Joy rushed through her as she read the first word of the letter.

"Congratulations."

XxXxXxX

Gin looked at Ulquiorra as they stood in the third-floor office. "So Aizen-taichou has left Hueco Mundo in yer hands permanently, eh?"

Ulquiorra returned his gaze without expression. "Aizen-taichou's plan has eliminated much of our competition. Seventy-eight members of the Eastside gang, of the Twenty-Second Street gang… anyone who could possibly be a threat to us, taken by the police in a clean sweep. Plus, the traitors from within Hueco Mundo itself are all dead or in custody." He eyed Gin with a neutral glance. "It was a highly successful operation."

Gin stood still, hiding anything he might have felt behind his usual enigmatic smile. "Yes, I saw that," he said. "It was quite an elaborate scheme, wasn't it? Didn't ya think it coulda been done in a less roundabout manner?"

Ulquiorra returned his gaze. "Do you have any objections to how it was managed?"

"Wellll, not objections, really. More like… questions. I was jus' wonderin' if Aizen-sama had Zaraki in his pay or if he simply knew he would shoot Nnoitra. An' was Nnoitra acting on his orders the whole time or did he set him up?"

Ulquiorra shrugged. "Neither Zaraki nor Nnoitra was acting on Aizen-sama's orders, as you should know. The police believe that they shot the Captain of Hueco Mundo and that the gang is destroyed, so we are all safe from prosecution. The details of Aizen-sama's plans should be of no further interest to any of us. All I know is that they are complete, and as he requested, I am taking over." He gave Gin a level glance. "The question I have for you is whether you wish to continue with us."

Gin sucked in his breath, a look of surprise slipping past his control. "Ya mean, I have a choice?"

"Aizen-sama specifically said that he was going to forgive you. He said… it was a special request, from Orihime Inoue, to Rangiku Matsumoto."

At the sound of the name, the smile disappeared completely off Gin's face and his eyes opened wide.

_Gin had grown up on the streets. He no longer remembered his parents. He had been in an institution briefly and had run away. He was caught, placed with foster parents, and ran away again. Since then he had spent much of his life evading capture, avoiding the authorities._

_He was good at it. Good at eking out a living on the streets by begging, stealing, running odd jobs for the drug dealers and petty criminals. He went to school because they gave him free food. He lied about his address. He lied about everything, but he got by._

_He had no friends, until everything changed one day. He had been making his usual rounds one day when he saw a girl younger than him, with tangled blonde hair and filthy clothes scrounging in one of "his" garbage cans. He had been about to warn her away when she turned her pretty, dirty face toward him and he was caught by the intense blue of her large, wide eyes. Then those lovely blue eyes had rolled up in her head and she had collapsed on the street in front of him. Surprising himself, he had squatted down beside her, pulling out his latest treasure: a bar of chocolate stolen from the nearby drugstore._

"_Hey," he said._

_Those astonishingly blue eyes opened and fixated on him. He peeled open the candy bar, held it out to her. "Collapsin' from hunger ain't a good thing around here," he warned._

_Her eyes focused avidly on the chocolate and one hand came up to take the bar. Then she hesitated, looking at him fearfully. "Naw, it's okay," he said, trying to reassure her. "Ya can have it."_

_She sat up and took the chocolate, began eating it, eyes fervent but trying to go slowly. He watched her in silence for a moment._

_Then she asked him, "What's your name?"_

"_Gin," he said. "Gin Ichimaru."_

"_That's a strange name." She smiled, and the smile lit up her thin face._

"_Is it really?" he asked. "Then you have to tell me yours."_

"_Rangiku. Rangiku Matsumoto."_

_They had lived together then, in a cardboard refrigerator carton Gin had scavenged from the recycling truck, hidden under a rusty old fire escape in a decrepit alley. They watched each other's backs when they stole food, fought back to back against the other street kids, and huddled together for warmth at night in the old cardboard box. And they talked. She was the first person—the only person—Gin had ever opened up to, shared his feelings, fears, thoughts, and dreams with._

_Then one day the authorities had caught her. Gin hadn't realized what it meant to be lonely before, as he went back to the empty box, slept curled around himself, tried to haunt the orphanages and social services office in hopes of catching a glimpse of her. But weeks went by with no sight of her, until one morning he woke up to a hand scrabbling at the front flap of the box. Coming out angrily, his small knife in his hand, he had been surprised and delighted to see Rangiku._

_She looked wonderful. She was clean and she had new clothes. But she crawled into the box beside him and for a few moments it was just like the old days, with the two of them chattering away about everything again. It was as though she had never been gone. Gin had pressed her about her new foster family, and she had been evasive. It was okay, she said, but Gin could see the lie in her eyes. But then she said, crying, that she couldn't live on the streets any more. She liked being warm and indoors, safe from all the dangers of the street. She was willing to accept… (she looked away for a moment) poor treatment, in order to have the safety of a roof over her head._

_Gin was unhappy, but what did he have to offer her? After a couple of hours, she had left again, leaving him alone once more._

_At least she had promised to visit…_

_Ever since then, Gin had kept tabs on her, as she moved from foster family to foster family. He was sometimes able to steal some money, slip it to her. He had noticed she had started drinking, and he cautioned her about it, but she shook her head. She said that sometimes it was the only thing that kept her going, kept her alive. Gin said no more then._

_For the past few years, he had been saving money. Working for Hueco Mundo had its advantages. He had been hoping that when he got out of high school, and Aizen moved off to college, that he would stay behind, find Rangiku, who would be turning 18 soon and out of the foster care system, and get them a real place to stay. Find a regular job. The two of them could be together, with an actual roof over both of their heads._

_He had always kept his attachment to Rangiku a secret, not mentioning it to anyone. For, as he well knew, attachments were a liability. A weakness._

So… Aizen had known his secret all this time. He let out a long, slow breath. Could it be possible? Forgiveness… was unheard of from Aizen. Could his attachment have changed him so profoundly? Had he been wrong, after all, in trying to break up Orihime and Aizen? Had he been wrong in his opinion about attachments?

Ulquiorra gazed at Gin, his eyes steady. "Aizen-sama has said that he is starting a new life, and that everyone who has served him loyally in the past will be allowed to do the same should they wish it. Grimmjow and several of the others have taken him up on his offer." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course, he is still keeping files on everyone, and he asked me to pass on this warning: should you seek to attack him or interfere with him in any way, he will retaliate."

Gin shivered briefly at the hidden menace in Ulquiorra's tone, but it could not keep down the wave of indescribable happiness that was surfacing in his chest. He had to go find Rangiku. His grin slipped back over his face. "I understand, Ulquiorra, and will obey Aizen-sama's wishes. As always," he murmured softly.

XxXxXxX

Aizen sat with Orihime at the dining table in her apartment, reading through the acceptance packet from MIT.

"Orihime, this is wonderful news. Congratulations," he said softly, reaching out to take her hand.

She was shaking her head. "Sousuke, you must not have read the financial aid packet."

He turned to the other page, scanned it. They were basing her Expected Family Contribution on the salary of one of her distant relatives, despite the fact that he had written a letter to the college saying that he felt his obligation to his young relative stopped at age 18, and that he would no longer contribute to her financial upkeep. In other words, he would give her nothing, but the college refused to accept that. Their estimate of her EFC, what she was expected to pay, was nearly twenty thousand dollars a year.

He looked up at her, anger sparking in his eyes. "There's no way you can pay that amount. Didn't I tell you the system was unjust?" There was a hint of the old bitterness in his voice.

She said nothing, only shook her head.

He searched her face carefully. A smile began to curl his lips. "So… will you let me… adjust the system a bit for you?"

She shook her head again and frowned. "No, I told you, Sousuke, I don't want any dishonest advantages."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Ah, I can see that life with you is going to be quite a trial." His eyes gleamed. "Which is good. I wouldn't like things to be too boring." He leaned back in his chair, smiled at her. "As it happens, as part of my restitution for my crimes, I have decided to set up a charitable foundation to aid Breakdown addicts with their recovery— and help poor students seeking to better their lives through education. I wouldn't be surprised if the foundation awarded some deserving young biochemist a scholarship."

She glared at him. "Sousuke, that's not acceptable either… laundering money through a foundation just to give me a gift. Although I'm glad you're going to help those Breakdown patients," she added.

"Oh no, you don't understand. I am truly setting up a legitimate foundation, and it is not just for you. It will give out other gifts and scholarships as well." There was warmth in his brown eyes as he looked at her. "I am keeping my promise to you, Orihime. Many others will benefit from this charity." He took her hand. "You might as well accept it, Orihime. I am going to give you the means to attend MIT no matter what. It's merely whether I give you an outright gift or whether I benefit others in addition to you." His smile held a hint of slyness as he looked at her. "Don't think that I'll stop playing games now that I'm going legitimate. It just gives me an additional challenge to stay within the rules… but I'll still always get what I want in the end."

Orihime frowned at him, her hands on her hips, her eyes locked on his for a moment. Then she sighed and dropped her eyes. How could she condemn him for wanting to help her… and for helping others as well? After all, she had promised to forgive him his past and help him begin a new future.

He took her in his arms and drew their foreheads together for a moment, then kissed her full on the lips. She couldn't resist him; she felt the familiar tingle deep within as he took her face in both hands and held it away from his for a moment, his eyes dancing with the old mischief.

"Now, Orihime, you surely won't deny me the chance to have fun in my life, will you?"

"Sousuke, what do you—" she began, but then stopped as his deep brown eyes held hers, huge and beautiful and still tinged with wickedness.

"You know I need challenge in my life…" he said softly. "I'll just need to find my way to becoming the richest and most powerful man in the world while staying within the law."

For a moment, she felt her heart clench with fear. He still possessed that driving ambition. Would he truly be able to stay on the right side of the law, to avoid the temptation to cut corners to get what he wanted? "Sousuke, are you sure you want to give all this up— for me?"

He held her close, and for a moment she felt him falter. "Orihime," he said, gazing at her, now completely serious. "I have always lived life on the edge because ever since my family was killed when I was five, I didn't care whether anyone, myself included, lived or died. I truly believed I no longer had emotions, that they had been burned out of me on that night so long ago." He stopped and took a deep breath. "But when I saw you in Nnoitra's hands that night… I realized that I was utterly wrong."

He gazed at her, and she felt his sincerity, for the first time since she had known him, grip her soul. "Orihime, I realized that your life was more precious than anything I had ever desired. Nothing, not even my own life, was worth yours. That's why I was willing to die to protect you that night. And in realizing that I was willing to do that, it seemed such a small thing to give up my… extra-legal activities for you. I'm only grateful that you're willing to forgive me for my terrible past. And in seeing how fortunate I personally am that you have boundless compassion, it finally occurred to me that I've been making errors in judgment all my life— about ethics, morality, and human nature itself."

He kissed her again. "You have finally made me realize what I should have learned long ago. Only you were strong enough to teach me what I needed to know. So… all the things I have ever wanted… they are all nothing. There is only one thing I really want, Orihime, and that is you. I love you. I love you more than life itself."

She clung to him, realized she was crying, and pressed her body into his.

"So," he said, stroking her hair, "are you ready to start a new life with me?"

She tightened her arms around him. "Yes. Yes, Sousuke."

His eyes lit. "I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel, Orihime." He bent down and scooped her up into his arms with that casual strength that never failed to undo her, and carried her, laughing, into her bedroom.

The window was open, and the sky was a pale, bright blue. It was the first balmy day in weeks, herald of the new season. Warm air sweet with the scent of new growth swirled into the room. As he set her down on the bed the curtains swung open in a fresh breeze, and an unexpected cloud of white cherry blossoms swung into the room, spraying the two of them with a cascade of petals.

~END~

XxXxXxX

**A/N:** Well, what did you think? Which ending did you like better? Please click the review button below and let me know. I'm really curious... because I think the other ending was more realistic and in-character, but ... I admit I personally prefer happy endings in my fiction (maybe because we don't often get them in real life). Also... I'm a sucker for the belief that true love can conquer all, and that people can change... so part of me wants to hope that this kind of ending isn't so unrealistic after all. ;) What's your opinion?

Also, I have another standalone M-rated chapter drafted for the closing scene… do you want me to post it or should I end the story here?


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